Outpost Inspiration: Chris Foss and Angus McKie

A friend of mine was discussing his experiences with No Man's Sky today. He showed some screenshots he had picked up, and mentioned conceptual artist Chris Foss. Foss was a powerful inspiration in the 70s, working on Dune (1977, which I might watch today for ideas), Alien and more recently Guardians of the Galaxy.

Figure 1 (Rowe, 2015)

Foss's work however is highly iconic. But I am getting a feel for the key elements of the work that was iconic of his era: Bold lines, blocky shapes, bold colours, fairly simple but sleek structures, but more textured and colourful than the Apple aesthetic that has dominated future-thinking science fiction over the past few years.

Figure 2 (Simotron, 2011)

  Another possible influnece is Angus McKie, Who again looked at vibrant colour palettes and key lines. This work is a useful influence for the design of the outpost.

Image References

• Figure 1: Rowe, A., 2015; Chris Foss Planet Of The Dying Sun; available at https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0kmkIHnAmij4F8SUTBLN4o3P9YOgHyHZK6NgmiJwsC5yRUOkbj1j9rIVFZOcUTsb1bj-9Weaq6v7N9ao_SquKWOn1qgt8aRsjWXH0nc8toJV4jMiTiCea2Et1zuduko8ztjY4UWkHN148/s1600/02+CHRIS+FOSS+-+THE+PLANET+OF+THE+DYING+SUN.jpg (last accessed 2nd October 2016)
• Figure 2: Simotron, 2011; Angus McKie-2; available at https://simotron.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/angus-mckie-2.jpg (last accessed 2nd October 2016)